Congratulations to Maarten Treur, Natalie Houwing, Bart Heeg, Marc Botteman, Ben van Hout and Abbott and AARDEX colleagues for receiving a Best Podium Award for their research titled: “A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK THAT CAPTURES THE MULTI-DIMENSIONAL ASPECT OF ADHERENCE IN A HEALTH-ECONOMIC MODEL: AN APPLICATION IN CHRONIC NON-MALIGNANT PAIN MANAGEMENT” which was presented by Maarten Treur at the ISPOR 13th Annual European Congress on Monday November 8th 2010 at the Prague Congress Centre in Prague, Czech Republic.
 

Pharmerit is pleased to announce their manuscript on indirect comparisons of second-generation tyrosine kinase inhibitors in CML has been published in the journal, “OncoTargets and Therapy”.  The published study provides a case study example of second-line use of nilotinib and dasatinib for CML, followed by an overview of indirect comparison methods being increasingly used to address challenges with these types of comparisons. (link to pdf)

Pharmerit is pleased to announce that its cost-effectiveness research in schizophrenia has been published in the journal “Applied Health Economics and Health Policy”. The published study used a discrete event simulation model to compare the cost-effectiveness of long active risperidone and haloperidol depot in patients with schizophrenia, specifically in the subgroup of high risk non compliant patients.

Dr. Ning Yan Gu, a Senior Scientist at Pharmerit International in Bethesda, MD is one of the speakers at the upcoming International Conference on Outcomes Measurement at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which will be held in Natcher Conference Center on September 1-3 link.

Dr. Gu will discuss her research using latent trait analysis (Rasch models) to assess how selected health domains/items in a health-related quality-of-life (HRQoL) instrument underpin the instrument’s measurement strength and value. In her study, conducted as an extension of her doctoral research at the University of Southern California (USC), Dr. Gu used the EQ-5D—one of the most widely used preference-based HRQoL instruments—to illustrate how its health items’ goodness-of-fit to the latent construct of HRQoL relates to different diseases. She also investigated the quantitative improvement associated with the inclusion alongside of the EQ-5D of an adjective rating scale for summary measures of health. In addition, utilizing the parameter separation feature of the Rasch model, Dr. Gu demonstrated how the strength of the HRQoL measures can be dissected into those attributed to persons and those attributed to health items, analyzed along a common latent continuum. Such an approach has its unique and useful positions in both economic and clinical evaluations on patients’ responses to health care interventions, assessed on different health items. Dr. Gu’s use of latent trait theory allows for a more individualized approach to the use of HRQoL measures, which results in improved patient diagnosis, optimized allocation of patients to treatments, and enhanced monitoring of the performance of any health instruments. All of these improvements can contribute to better clinical decision making, improved clinical trial design, and more cost effective health care decisions.

Pharmerit is pleased to announce that Dr. Dipen Patel, PhD has joined its US office in Bethesda.

Dr. Patel is Pharmerit’s latest addition to its growing US office. Dr. Patel joins Pharmerit after having completed his PhD in Pharmacy Administration at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), School of Pharmacy.

 
“We are very fortunate that Dipen has joined our team”, said Marc Botteman, Managing Partner of Pharmerit in the US. “We have had the opportunity to work with Dipen in the past and were very impressed by his research skills, enthusiasm, and dedication. Dipen’s capabilities will very nicely complement the skills of our rapidly growing team.”

 
Dr Patel’s research interests include meta-analysis, health economic modeling, claims database analysis, and health outcomes studies.  He has a varied research experience with systematic review, quantitative, and qualitative studies. His recent research includes cost-effectiveness modeling of anti-coagulation therapies, retrospective data analysis of Aspergillosis in COPD patients, economic burden / health-related quality-of-life of severe food allergy and anaphylaxis, and content analysis of off-label drug prescribing.

 
Dr. Patel has been a very active member of ISPOR with deep involvement in the student network. He initiated the VCU student chapter, served as the President of ISPOR student membership and outreach committee, and received the Distinguished Service Award from ISPOR in 2008. 

 
At Pharmerit, Dr. Patel will work with our team of seasoned modelers and retrospective claims database experts to help our sponsors meet the many challenges to successful commercialization in today's competitive healthcare market.

Pharmerit is pleased to announce that Phillip Wiegand, Pharm.D., MS has joined its Bethesda, MD team.

“We are delighted that Phil has joined our rapidly growing team” said Marc Botteman, Managing Partner of Pharmerit in the United States. “Phil brings his experience in US health care delivery to our expanding market access research group. Phil’s passion for developing, implementing, and communicating evidence-based and effective market access strategies will contribute our clients’ efforts in achieving their business goals."
 
Phil Wiegand received a bachelor’s degree in Biology from The Pennsylvania State University; a Masters in Pharmaceutical Economics and Policy from The University of Southern California School of Clinical Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Economics and Policy; and a Doctor of Pharmacy degree from Temple University School of Pharmacy.  Phillip has worked for a number of health care companies including Johnson and Johnson, AstraZeneca and WellPoint Health Plan.  Additionally, he has practiced as a clinical pharmacist at a community hospital.  His research interests include cost-effectiveness research, predictive modeling studies, retrospective database manipulations, formulary management analyses, pharmacokinetic evaluations, root-cause / failure modes effects analyses and clinical case study reports. His work has been presented at conferences held by the American Pharmacists Association, American Society of Health-Systems Pharmacists and the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research; and published in Pharmacy Practice Online. 

 
At Pharmerit, his principal focus will be to develop and communicate outcomes research and health economic strategies to help sponsors gain market access in the United States.  Phil will work closely with other Pharmerit staff members who dedicate a great portion of their time towards market access research to help our sponsors meet the many challenges to successful commercialization in today's competitive healthcare market.  Additionally, Phil will be charged with expanding Pharmerit new business opportunities in the US, to meet the needs of our sponsors in a rapidly changing healthcare delivery system.

Ning Yan Gu , PhD, Senior Scientist at Pharmerit in Bethesda, MD, was the recipient of the Best New Investigator Podium Research Presentations Award at the ISPOR 15th Annual International Meeting. The title of her work was “Evaluating the measurement properties of an augmented EQ-5D with the inclusion of two single quality-of-life (QOL) indicators using the medical expenditure panel survey (MEPS).” (link)  This research was conducted with co-authors Trevor G Bond from James Cook University, Townsville, QLD, Australia, and Ben M Craig, PhD, from Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, FL, USA. This presentation recognizes Dr Gu’s research to evaluated the measurement properties of the EQ-5D. This award comes as the fourth ISPOR best podium/poster presentations awarded to Dr Gu (she has been the recipient of the Best Student Podium Research Presentation Award in 2007 and 2008 and, the recipient of the Best Student Poster Research Presentation Award in 2009) 

Caitlyn Wilke, PhD  Candidate, who is joining our Pharmerit Bethesda, MD office, is the new recipient of the International Society for Pharmacoepidemiology (ISPE) Stanley A. Edlavitch Award for the Best Student Abstract submitted for the 26th International Conference on Pharmacoepidemiology & Therapeutic Risk Management (link). This research was titled “Sensitivity of Hazard Estimates to Exposure Definitions: a simulation study.” This research was conducted with University of Illinois at Chicago co-authors Todd A Lee, PhD, PharmD, Bruce L Lambert, PhD, Surrey Walton, PhD, Min J Joo, MD, and A. Simon Pickard, PhD. It assessed the relationship between varying exposure-time window length and medication use patterns on observed mortality hazards.  This research will be presented at the ISPE meeting to be held August 19-22, 2010 at the Hilton Brighton Metropole, Brighton, UK.

Please join us in congratulating Ning and Cailtyn and their respective co-authors for their excellence in research.

Pharmerit is pleased to announce that its comparative effectiveness research in methicillin-resistant staph aureus (MRSA) complicated skin and soft tissue infections (cSSTI) has been published in Current Medical Research and Opinion. This study used a Bayesian approach to compare success rates of six different antibiotics for MRSA cSSTI to inform HTA and formulary decision-making.

Pharmerit is pleased to announce that Caitlyn Wilke is joining its growing team. She will be based in the Bethesda, MD office.

“We are delighted to welcome Caitlyn to our growing team of first-class methodologists” said Marc Botteman, Managing Partner of Pharmerit in the United States. “Caitlyn strengthens our already deep and extensive PRO and statistical research capabilities as we continue to meet the growing needs of our sponsors. She shares our passionate commitment to supporting our clients in achieving their business goals."
 
Caitlyn Wilke is currently a Ph.D candidate (expected graduation July 2010) in Pharmacy Administration through the College of Pharmacy at University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) and a pharmacoeconomics and outcomes research fellow through UIC and Novo Nordisk (Princeton, New Jersey).  She received her M.S. in Pharmacy Administration from UIC and B.S. in Biochemistry from the University of Minnesota.  Her research interests include health related quality of life research, outcomes research methodology, pharmacoepidemiology, and comparative effectiveness research.

 
Caitlyn has published her investigations of the statistical implications of preference-based utility weighting of health related quality of life measures, systematic reviews and meta-analyses of the use of the EQ-5D in respiratory illnesses and cancer, and inquiries into quality of life in lupus, including development of a lupus-specific quality of life measure.

 
Recently recognized as a “Rising Star” in UIC Pharmacist, Caitlyn has received the Best Student Podium award at ISOQOL for her item response theory-related work and the UIC Dean’s Scholar Award (2009-2010) for excellence in research. Caitlyn has also received the Distinguished Service Award from the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR). Ms. Wilke, who served as ISPOR student chapter president for the 2007-08 year, has also served as the Student Network chair and oversees all ISPOR student chapter presidents.

Caitlyn’s research interests include the development, validation, application, and analysis of patient-reported outcomes instruments (PRO), focusing on health-related quality of life, and retrospective comparative safety/effectiveness analysis.

Caitlyn will work closely with Pharmerit sponsors to help them address the many challenges to successful commercialization that exist in today's competitive healthcare market.

Pharmerit is pleased to announce that its most recent research in insomnia and comorbid major depressive disorder (MDD) has been published in the The Journal of Mental Health Policy and Economics. The purpose of this analysis was to examine the costs and benefits of eszopiclone co-administered with fluoxetine compared to placebo co-administered with fluoxetine in adults meeting the DSM-IV criteria for insomnia and MDD. The results show that co-treatment resulted in net increases of 0.0058 QALYs and $81, leading to an incremental cost per QALY gained of approximately $14,000. Co-administration of eszopiclone and fluoxetine improved patients' insomnia symptoms and appeared to be a cost-effective treatment strategy for patients with insomnia and comorbid MDD. The publication can be found here.  This study adds to the limited number of studies that evaluate the economic impact of insomnia in comorbid depression and it is the first cost effectiveness of this kind in this area. For more details about this study, please do not hesitate to contact co-authors Sonya Snedecor (;Tel: +1 240 821-1268) or Marc Botteman (;Tel: +1 240 821-1289).

We are very pleased to announce that our international team has expanded with 3 new colleagues. Vân Bui, Marielle Tergau and Loes van Erp have joined the Pharmerit team in the Netherlands in the respective positions of Junior Research Consultant, Business Intelligence & Communication Specialist and Junior Business Development Manager. We are delighted to have them on board!  

 Pharmerit is pleased to inform that its research in STEMI has been published in Current Medical Research and Opinion. This study assesses the costs and effects of combination treatment with clopidogrel and aspirin in comparison to aspirin alone in patients with an ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) in a Dutch setting (link to pdf). 

 Pharmerit is pleased to inform that its research in oncology has been electronically published in Annals of Oncology. This analysis assessed the cost-effectiveness of Zoledronic acid  for prevention of fractures in postmenopausal women with breast cancer.